Polisher for high voltage electric lines



March 4, 1969 N. HINTZE 3,430,279

POLISHER FOR HIGH VOLTAGE ELECTRIC LINES Filed May 23, 1966 NormanHinf-ze INVENTOR United States Patent 3,430,279 POLISHER FOR HIGHVOLTAGE ELECTRIC LINES Norman Hintze, Jerome, Idaho 83338 Filed May 23,1966, Ser. No. 552,024 U.S. CI. 15-23 Int. Cl. A471 25 00; A46b 13/02;B24b 29/00 4 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE This invention relates toapparatus for polishing the exterior of high voltage electric lines.

Before attaching branch line connectors to an uninsulated high voltageelectric line, it is necessary to polish the exterior of the line in thearea of connector attachment to remove dirt and oxidation products, andthus insure that an effective electrical connection is made.

It is the general purpose of the present invention to provide apparatusfor accomplishing this function safely, efliciently and without thenecessity of first de-energizing the line.

In the drawings:

FIG. 1 is a view in side elevation, of the herein described polisher forhigh voltage electric lines, partly broken away to show the interiorconstruction; and

FIG. 2 is a transverse sectional view taken along line 22 of FIG. 1.

As illustrated in the drawings, the high voltage electric line polisherof my invention is driven by a motor which preferably comprises ahorsepower drill motor or other rotary electric motor provided with ahandle 12 and a switch 14 located conveniently to the hand of theoperator. For use in the field, the motor may be driven from a portablegenerator or, if preferred, it may be of the self-contained,battery-operated type.

In either event, the motor is provided with a cylindrical housing havingat one end an externally threaded area 16. The shaft 18 of the motorextends centrally from one end of the housing. It is provided withsplines 20 for direct coupling to the polisher shaft.

Polisher shaft 22 is an elongated member which may be, for example, from8 to 16 feet long, round in cross section, and fabricated fromnonelectrically conducting material such as fiberglass or wood.

To couple the polisher shaft to the motor shaft, the inner end of theformer mounts a sleeve 24, one end of which is fastened releasably tothe end of the polisher shaft by means of set screw 26, and the otherend of which is provided with splines 28 which mate with splines 20 onthe end of motor shaft 18.

A case 30 encloses shaft 22. Like the latter, case 30 is made ofelectrically nonconducting material, as of fiberglass or wood. Itpreferably is circular in cross section, open on both ends, and somewhatshorter than shaft 22 so that the outer end of the shaft projectsoutwardly from the outer end of the case.

Coupling means are provided for releasably coupling the inner end ofcase 30 directly to the housing of motor 10. In the illustrated andpreferred form of the invention, the coupling means for this purposescomprise an internally threaded section 32 present on the inner end ICCof the case and designed for threaded engagement with externallythreaded section 16 of the motor housing.

Case 30 is strengthened and reinforced by means of a plurality oflongitudinally spaced transverse partitions 34, 36, 38. These also maybe made of fiberglass and are provided with central openings, alignedwith each other and also with an opening 40 through the outer end of thecase.

Partitions 34, 36, 38 serve the additional important function ofproviding mountings for the bearings which mount shaft 22 rotatablywithin the case.

Although various types of bearings may be employed, it is preferred touse simple bushings 42 made of nylon or other self-lubricating,wear-resistant material, pressed into the respective openings providedfor their reception.

Shaft 22 is demountably held in its operative position by means of apair of set collars 44, 46 disposed oppositely on shaft 22. Thesereleasably are held in place by means of set screws, and are arranged tobear against the end surfaces of the endmost ones of bearings 42. Duringapplication of the polisher these end surfaces act as thrust bearings,taking the oppositely directed thrust of shaft 22.

The outwardly extending outer end of shaft 22 mounts a rotary brush 50.The brush may be variously designed as required to perform its assignedfunction of cleaning dirt and corrosion from the outer surfaces of highvoltage electric lines.

Brush 50 is fixed to the outer end of a central stub shaft 52 which inturn is coupled to the outer end of shaft 22 by means of a sleeve 54maintained releasably in position by means of set screws. In this mannerbrush 50 may be mounted on shaft 22 and demounted therefrom as requiredfor easy and rapid brush replacement and interchange.

To assemble the herein described polisher, set collar 46 first issecured to shaft 22 in its proper, operative location. Shaft 22 then isinserted through all of bearings 42 until it is in its operativeposition, with the side face of collar 46 bearing against the inner faceof the rearwardmost of bearings 42, and with the outer end of the shaftprojecting outwardly from the outer end of case 30.

Motor shaft 18 is placed within the rearwardly projecting end of sleeve24 with splines 28 on the sleeve engaging splines 20 on the shaft. Case30 is threaded onto motor housing 10. Set collar 44 is applied andsecured against the bearing end surface of the outermost bearing 42. Theselected one of brushes 50 then is coupled to the outwardly projectingend of shaft 22 by means of sleeve 54.

There thus is provided a portable implement which may be used by alineman supported by his belt on a pole mounting a high voltage electricline. By its use the lineman can polish the selected spot on the linesafely and rapidly, without de-energizing the line, preliminary toattaching a branch line connector or other operation.

Having thus described my invention, I claim:

1. A polisher for high voltage electric lines comprising:

,(a) a rotary motor,

(b) an elongated shaft of electrically non-conducting material,

(c) releasable shaft coupling means coupling the inner end of the shaftto the motor and comprising splined sleeve means interconnecting theinner end of the shaft to the motor,

((1) an elongated case of electrically nonconducting material enclosingthe shaft,

(e) case coupling means coupling the inner end of the case to the motor,

(f) aligned bearing means at spaced longitudinal intervals inside thecase, receiving and rotatably mounting the shaft,

3 4 (g) set collar means on the shaft arranged in thrust ReferencesCited (hbeariing relljatioirli to the shaft beazrlintg mheans, tand dUNITED STATES PATENTS g f means Onnec e e er en 1,598,411 8/1926 Allen15-28 2, The polisher of claim 1 wherein the shaft and case 5 183396712/1931 Grofi 1523 are fabricated from fiberglass. 2,170,936 8/1939Schumann.

3. The Polisher of claim 1 wherein the case is provided 2,237,999 4/1941Newman 15' 23 X with a plurality of longitudinally spaced partitionshaving 2278095 3/1942 Rogers 15 28 X celrlitral aligned transverseopenings therethrtlitugllr and FOREIGN PATENTS D g P P g 612,965 11/1960Italy.

receiving the shaft.

4. The polisher of claim 1 wherein the inner end of EDWARD L ROBERTS P Ethe case is threaded on the motor, thereby releasably rlmary xammercoupling the case to the motor. 15

